Warrap state accuses army of mobilising student protest in capital
April 14, 2015 (JUBA) – The minister for education in Warrap state has accused members of the South Sudanese army (SPLA) of agitating for protests in the state capital, Kuajok, on Tuesday.
Students of high school (senior three) staged a strike over curriculum taught in the state and demanded that the system applied the Sudanese curriculum in which they should sit this year for the Sudan school certificate examinations instead of waiting until senior four as applied in the neighbouring Uganda.
But education minister Atem Atem blamed South Sudanese soldiers, who are also students, for being behind the protest by some 300 students, which he described as unusual in Warrap state.
“It has never happened before. The students here in Warrap never protested before. They did it this time because behind the strike which they carried out yesterday were some soldiers in the school,” he said.
He said he suspected that the motive behind the incitement by the South Sudanese soldiers was because they were in a hurry such that they completed their studies and go back to barracks.
“They want to sit for the Sudan school certificate without going to senior four. We told them that the policy of sitting [for] Sudan school certificate has changed,” he said.
The official further explained that it was a temporary arrangement for a specific period when the newly independent country was still establishing its system and continued to allow students to sit for the Sudan school certificate, adding “this period has finished.”
However, students charged that authorities were insisting that the new syllabi must be taught when they didn’t have well established syllabus, further claiming that South Sudan was randomly borrowing Uganda’s Syllabus which they claimed to be South Sudanese syllabi.
Atem argued the government will not be in a position to amend the interim constitution to allow students to continue to sit for Sudan school certificate in defiance of the constitutional provision requiring the young country to set its own exams.
“We told them (students) it is not good to cause trouble for no reason. This is your country. It has the constitution, its own policies and systems in place. Why go and sit exams under different systems,” he said.
The minister said despite the complaints the state government will continue to apply the current system which it deemed fit.
It was not however clear whether or not the official would successfully persuade the striking students to resume classes and forget about sitting for the Sudan school certificate.
South Sudan has no unified syllabi as different state governments continue to borrow curriculum from Sudan and different east African countries.
(ST)